Alexandra Villareal reports on a US ballet company celebrating diversity on every level – from body type and looks to training and quality of movement.
When Jillian Davis is on stage, it’s hard to watch anyone else. In a blink of the eye, her body swings from long diagonals into swooping parabolas, from the fullest extension of a line to the most cavernous curve.
For a moment, she suspends time, like her body is a gasp and the air hasn’t escaped just yet. Then, she’s a hiccup in gravity, light but grounded.
“I definitely try to portray, like, that tall, Amazonian type because that’s not something that you see onstage a lot, and it’s beautiful,” Davis told the Guardian.
At 6ft 2in, she towers over most of her fellow dancers, one of a myriad of qualities that make her an original. But for a long time, that individuality worked against her.
Before joining Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Davis said she attended close to a hundred company auditions. She always got rejected, and nine out of 10 times it was because of her height.
“I just couldn’t figure out why I wasn’t even being looked at,” she said... Keep reading on the Guardian
When Jillian Davis is on stage, it’s hard to watch anyone else. In a blink of the eye, her body swings from long diagonals into swooping parabolas, from the fullest extension of a line to the most cavernous curve.
For a moment, she suspends time, like her body is a gasp and the air hasn’t escaped just yet. Then, she’s a hiccup in gravity, light but grounded.
“I definitely try to portray, like, that tall, Amazonian type because that’s not something that you see onstage a lot, and it’s beautiful,” Davis told the Guardian.
At 6ft 2in, she towers over most of her fellow dancers, one of a myriad of qualities that make her an original. But for a long time, that individuality worked against her.
Before joining Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Davis said she attended close to a hundred company auditions. She always got rejected, and nine out of 10 times it was because of her height.
“I just couldn’t figure out why I wasn’t even being looked at,” she said... Keep reading on the Guardian